Highlights

Volunteer At Life’sWork Our community is very important to all of us at Life’sWork. We appreciate the ongoing support from friends and neighbors. Through Pittsburgh’s Day of Caring and other community volunteering events, several individuals and organizations take time out of their schedules to brighten up Life’sWork. Life’sWork welcomes community members to come to our facility and help out with different jobs on a one time or an ongoing basis. Volunteers help

with tasks both inside and outside of the building like painting, building tables, planting flowers, clerical work, decorating bulletin boards, and working directly with clients and/or helping out with client events. We can work together to choose which area best suits you. Volunteering at Life’sWork is a direct, hands-on effort to help our mission. All work done by our volunteers goes a long way in assisting us in enhancing and improving the services we provide to the community.

For more information about volunteering at Life’sWork contact Victor Santiago

412-471-2600 x376 vsantiago@lifesworkwpa.org

Happy Holidays From Life’sWork

Life’sWork of Western PA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the quality of life of persons with disabilities and others with barriers to employment through productive employment opportunities.

www.lifesworkwpa.org

An Evolution is Taking Place at Life’sWork It is an honor and a pleasure to serve as the new Interim President and CEO of Life’sWork. Upon arriving in early October, I was immediately impressed with the quality of staff and the courage and determination of our clients. Our mission here of assisting people with disabilities to achieve independence and dignity through productive employment opportunities is a great one. The fact that we have successfully provided these services to over 100,000 adults and youth with disabilities over our 88 year history still amazes me. And I can assure you that the counseling, t rain ing, job coaching and placement services we provide today are of the same high quality. However, as many of you know, we are currently working through a very challenging financial position. Funding cutbacks and business cutbacks in demand in our business services division have created significant financial shortfalls over the

last few years. And as the State budget impasse continues, it holds up a lot of our funding for services this fiscal year. However, the good news is that we have made significant progress on these difficult financial issues over the last two months. Though we still have a ways to go to achieve full stability and then sustainability, I am very confident that, with your continuing support, we will get there. Given how critical and beneficial our services are to our wonderful and most deserving clients, anything less than success is not an option. On behalf of the staff and clients of Life’sWork, I thank so many of you for your past and ongoing support and wish you a happy and most meaningful Holiday Season.

Sincerely, Geoffrey Stillson

MEET THE NEWEST MEMBERS

Ty Rozier is our new Career Development Workforce Specialist, working directly with our students in Project Match, to help them work through any physical or social barriers to employment that they may have. Ty studied education at Point Park University and has worked as a probation officer for seven years. He says he is here to help, to give back, and to help his students live a more productive and peaceful life.

Diane Weaver-Thomas is a Workforce Development Specialist, assisting our youth in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program by finding them jobs and finding educational services that best fit their needs. Diane attended Slippery Rock University, where she studied social work. She has worked at Life’sWork in the past and came back as she truly believes what we do here at Life’sWork of Western PA.

For more information about open positions,

please contact Marissa Goosby

(412) 471-2600 ext. 246 mgoosby@lifesworkwpa.org.

Geoffrey Stillson is a longtime Pittsburgh resident. He has provided consulting services in planning, management, and finance to profit and nonprofit organizations for over 40 years.

A White House Dinner in PittsburghTM On November 5th guests of A White House Dinner in PittsburghTM gathered in the ballroom of the Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe to enjoy four exquisite courses created by former White House Chef John Moeller. Just as the White House utilizes the State Dinner to pay tribute to diplomatic relations, Life’sWork honors our community’s champions at the annual A White House Dinner in PittsburghTM event. As guests enjoyed dishes such as seafood soup and braised short rib, awards were presented to community partners who have shown their support of the Life’sWork mission by providing employment opportunities to individuals with barriers to employment. Rivers Casino was honored with The James F. Compton Humanitarian Award, recognizing their efforts to employ individuals with disabilities.

FedEx Ground received The Joseph F. Mulach, Jr. Award, in recognition of their Disability Mentoring Day and for offering competitive employment to persons with disabilities and barriers to employment. For mentoring individuals with disabilities, ESPN Analyst Merril Hoge was the recipient of the Life’sWork Career Achievement Award.

Keith Allison was honored with The 2016 Leonard Weitzman Client of the Year Award, recognizing his accomplishments and achievement in the workplace as an employee of McDonalds in Pleasant Hills. The evening would not have been possible were it not for the hard work of our Life’sWork staff volunteers, the staff at the Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe, Chef John Moeller, and of course all of our corporate sponsors. We would especially l ike to thank our Presidential Sponsor FedEx Ground and our Vice Presidential Sponsor Bayer Healthcare. We hope to see you all again when A White House Dinner in PittsburghTM returns in the future.

Craig Clark of Rivers Casino accepts the Compton Award from Brian Heery, Chairman

of the Life’sWork Board of Directors.

Leonard Weitzman, former CEO of Life’sWork, with Keith Allison, 2016 Client of the Year, and family.

“The testimonials touched my heart and reinforced my respect for the service you and your colleagues extend to people with disabilities!” -Linda Nakama, FedEx Ground

www.lifesworkwpa.org

Classes Are In Full Swing At Life’sWork! Life’sWork is excited to announce a new addition to the classes that we offer to our clients. This year a GED Preparation Course was introduced at our Northshore Community Alliance division. The GED program offers clients a tailored plan that is based on the level of education they test into when they start the program. The program also offers tutors to those who may need the additional help.

In addition to the new GED Preparation Course, the other classes offered at Life’sWork have continued to grow throughout the year. The 8-week Environmental Service Training program that trains individuals in the field of janitorial

services, combining a standard classroom lecture setting with hands on work experience, has had a successful completion rate of 82%. The Customer Service Representative Training Program boasts an 80% success rate just this year. This 8-week class offered at both of the Life’sWork locations is aimed at helping participants build and develop solid fundamental skills in the area of computer processing and customer service. Participants are provided with an opportunity to receive formal instruction and develop a modern workplace skillset.

Toys For Tots comes to Life’sWork This holiday season, Life’sWork opens its doors to families from around the area to partake in the Christmas spirit thanks to Toys For Tots! In the past Life’sWork has served dozens of families as a Toys for Tots distribution center. This program benefits many of the children of our clients here at Life’sWork of Western PA.

Toys for Tots is an organization whose mission it is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. Founded by the U.S. Marine Corps. over sixty years ago, Toys For Tots has helped less fortunate children in the United States experience the joy of Christmas. In doing so, they seek to send a message of hope to the youngest Americans and assist them in b e c o m i n g r e s p o n s i b l e a n d productive citizens.

For more information about our classes,

please contact Beth Zwetsloot

(412) 471-2600 ext. 407 ezwetsloot@lifesworkwpa.org

ESTP Instructor Al Philips and a student practice floor buffing techniques.

www.lifesworkwpa.org

UPCOMING CLASSES ESTP: Jan. 4 CSR at LW: Jan. 25 CSR at NCA: Feb. 22 GED: Ongoing *Schedule Subject to Change

Amazon Smile Makes Giving Easy and Fun Now you can support Life’sWork through your normal online shopping with Amazon Smile. By logging onto smile.amazon.com and selecting Life’sWork of Western PA as your organization of choice, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to our programs and services, making it one of the easiest ways to give back. For all future purchases to be eligible, you must log on through smile.amazon.com, not amazon.com. This holiday season, make Amazon Smile your default online shopping source to help support Life’sWork with any last minute

shopping. Amazon Smile has thousands of eligible products, including a variety of toys, video games, electronics, home goods, kitchen wares, and more! And the giving does not end after the holidays! Use Amazon Smile throughout the year for your shopping needs. Through Amazon Smile, you can help support Life’sWork with just a few clicks.

Products Eligible for Amazon Smile Star Wars Remote

Controlled BB-8 Barbie Careers

Teacher Playset Power Rangers Dino

Charge Red Ranger Fallout 4 on Xbox

One & Playstation 4 Inside Out on Blu-

ray & DVD LEGO Dimensions

Starter Pack for WiiU Apple iPad with

Retina Display and many more!

What a Difference a Year Can Make “This is the first time in my life that I’ve been able to keep a job for more than 6 months,” says Erika Frederick, former graduate of Life’sWork’s Customer Service Representative Training Program. Erika will be celebrating her one year anniversary as a Customer service Representative at IBEX Global on January 22nd. Erika was hired immediately after she received her Customer Service Representative Training certificate from Life’sWork in January of 2015. Er ika left immediately after graduation to make it on time for her IBEX Global interview. She reported to her classmates that she was worried that she wouldn’t get the job due to her mental illness and former criminal background. The Life’sWork Staff encouraged her to stay positive and to focus more on her strengths during the interview process.

A week later, Erika called the Life’sWork Staff to inform them that she was offered a job at IBEX Global. Erika owes her success to her former Life’sWork’s CSR teacher Sue Ellen Kenitz and her psychiatrist who has found the proper treatment to manage her mental illness. “My psychiatrist told me that I will continue to be in complete remission from my illness as long as I continue to commit to my treatment.” When asked what Erika’s plans are for her future, she reported that she’d like to focus less on sales and more on making a difference as a Customer Service Representative in the healthcare industry.

Erika Frederick, right, with instructor Sue Ellen Kenitz, left, at her graduation from the Customer Service Representative Training Program.

www.lifesworkwpa.org

1323 Forbes Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15219-4700

(412) 471-2600

222 Nazareth Drive

Belle Vernon, PA 15012-9303

(724) 684-3630

1439 North Franklin St

Pittsburgh, PA 15233

(412) 322-7400

United Way of Allegheny County CFC Code #68217 Pittsburgh #107 Mon Valley #1527

Admissions, the provision of services, and referrals are made without regard of race, color, religious creed, disability, ancestry, national origin

(including limited English proficiency), age, or sex.

For more information about the services and programs at Life’sWork of Western Pa,

visit www.lifesworkwpa.org or call one of our three divisions at the numbers below.